Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Possibly Moving to the Area
Hi! My husband just received a job offer in Bellevue. We're
currently in the DC area. We need to make a decision on the offer
relatively soon-ish, and right now I'm trying to collect all of the
information that I can. I have a ton of questions and if you have any
time, I would love to hear your thoughts on any or all of the
following. Thanks in advance!!
1. H's job would be in Bellevue. Housing cost (sort of) no object, would you live on the Bellevue side or the Seattle side?
2. We would be living in an apartment for a while so that we can scope this stuff out ourselves, but are there particular neighborhoods that are good for families?
3. Is there anywhere you can go for a weekend getaway relatively easily?
4. Favorite thing / least favorite thing about the area? Anything else we should consider?
Re: Possibly Moving to the Area
1. If he works in Bellevue, I would live on the east side. Bellevue is pretty expensive so surrounding areas would be fine. They just added a toll to the 520 bridge which is one of the bridges that you can take from Seattle to Bellevue.. so that kinda sucks.
2. I don't live in Bellevue or surrounding areas but there are a bunch of nesties who do so I'll leave that to them.
3. Yes, we have a lot of places that you can go to around here. You could drive to the beach, visit Canada, see the san juan islands, TONS of easy day trips or weekend trips!
4. I love Seattle/Bellevue. I mostly love the people, the weather, and the scenery. We are nice on the West coast!
Hope he accepts the offer! Then you can join our board! Good luck!
Hi! I work in downtown Bellevue and live just north of there in Kirkland.
1. I'd definitely recommend living on the Bellevue side. There are plenty of people who commute in from Seattle to work in Bellevue and it can be done if you prefer the Seattle side, but there is a new toll and a round trip on the 520 bridge during peak commute hours will cost $7/day. There are busses, but our public transportation is nowhere near as efficient as it should be for a city our size.
2. There are a TON of apartments in downtown Bellevue that would probably put your H in walking distance to work while you scope out the area. Otherwise, there are lots of family friendly areas on the eastside. Look into Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah or Sammamish. The downtown Bellevue area is great, but some of the outlying areas of Bellevue are not.
3. Ditto Sarack - there are a TON of great weekend-away options nearby. Portland, OR is 3 hours away, Vancouver BC is ~2 hours north, lots of options for skiing/winter sports in the mountains, lots of rural island destinations accessible by ferry, etc. Woodinville, which is about a half hour north of Bellevue, is a big destination for wine tasting. The Oregon coast is absolutely fantastic, and the northern end of it is only a 4 hour drive. Plus, just exploring Seattle could take multiple weekends!
4. A lot of folks aren't fans of our weather. It doesn't rain all the time, but it is gray and overcast for a good 8-9 months of the year. I grew up here so it doesn't bother me, but some people hate it. Our summers are to die for though, not too hot, not overly humid and just gorgeous. I love the feel of being near enough to the city but still having lots of options to get out of town and out to the mountains or the beach.
Good luck with the decision! If there's anything else we can help answer, just ask!
2012 Racing Plans:
Valentine's Day Dash 5k, 02/11/2012, 33:03
Seahawks 12k, 04/01/2012, 1:23:17
Bellevue 10k, 04/29/2012
Beat the Bridge 8k, 05/20/2012
Seattle Rock n Roll Half Marathon, 06/23/2012
...more to come!
Welcome! The Seattle area is a great place.
1) eastside, definitely
2) i do hear that issaquah is good for families, but i don't know first hand.
3) lots and lots. e. wa, san juans, portland, canada, olympic peninsula. every direction, there's fin stuff
4) the seattle nest board is pretty awesome. stick around, and you'll be convinced to move here
♥ bfp1 06/14/2011 ♥ edd 02/22/2012 ♥
♥ baby jennlin born on 02/15/2012 ♥
who says you can only wear your wedding dress once?
honeymoon bio ♥ married bio ♥ planning bio
jumped ship to the new and improved nest. back to TB for baby boards.
I agree with almost everything ahead of this post.
So, welcome to Seattle (Bellevue)!
Agreed! Issaquah is nice, I live right next to it in Sammamish. If you do look at Sammamish, try and not live in the Plateau. Gets kinda of expensive.
my currently-reading shelf:
1. H's job would be in Bellevue. Housing cost (sort of) no object, would you live on the Bellevue side or the Seattle side?
Personally, i'd live in Seattle as i grew up in Bellevue and would rather live elsewhere. Bellevue makes more sense, though, especially given traffic and tolls.
2. We would be living in an apartment for a while so that we can scope this stuff out ourselves, but are there particular neighborhoods that are good for families?
Anywhere in B'vue or surrounding neighborhoods is fine. Redmond is nice, but i don't know about apartments there (Bellevue has lots of apts.). ETA: Newcastle is great (no decent restaurants, though), and as pps suggested, Issaquah would be good, too.
3. Is there anywhere you can go for a weekend getaway relatively easily?
Peninsula (Olympics, Ocean Shores, Port Angeles, Pt Townsend, etc.), San Juan Islands, Whidbey Island, Bellingham, Vancouver, Victoria, North/Central Cascades (hiking, snow sports), Portland
4. Favorite thing / least favorite thing about the area? Anything else we should consider?
Too many favorites to list! Least favorite is traffic volumes and bad driving. If you live/work on a hill, be prepared to walk or stay home if it snows -- don't expect sanding/plowing/etc. Also people don't shovel their sidewalks here, so be prepared for that.
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
I would definitely recommend checking out both Redmond and Kirkland.
Bellevue apartments are either really overpriced right now, or not walkable from downtown. Downtown Redmond has a bunch of townhome and rental apartments that are walkable to shops/restaurants/etc. Check on Craigslist too, we're renting out our old townhome (found the renter on Craigslist) for the price of a 2 bedroom apartment. Kirkland is also nice, but quite pricey.
Lake Washington School District is really good for the kiddos.
Newlywed Athlete Blog
DD Arrived 10/17/2011
2012 Races
Valentine's Day Dash - 5k - 2/11/12 - 34:21
Kirkland 5k - 5/13/12 - 31:59